


In This Game Called Life

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: I don't actually know how relationships work, M/M, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 10:30:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11229111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tendou plays his games and contemplates life, Semi is dragged along for the ride and Ushijima is their ever reliable rock who is with them in spirit.





	In This Game Called Life

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I wrote a thing because it turns out that the only time I can actually write and finish something is when I'm supposed to be revising for my English exam in the library so I decided to post it before I started to hate it ;; such a productive session (quality will vary - I didn't proofread this or anything so please forgive me for any mistakes, I'm tired and just want to sleep for 10 years)

Tendou raps the buttons on his Vita furiously, skipping past the dialogue of a JRPG that he’s played a dozen times before. It’s a little generic and clichéd but he likes the characters and the little minigames incorporated throughout whenever he wants to fix his gear.

“Don’t you have work to be doing?” Semi asks when he hears the familiar victory jingle. “You’ve been playing that for weeks now and I haven’t seen you touch your textbooks since you got it.”

“Awh, SemiSemi, are you worried about me?” Tendou coos, never taking his eyes off the screen. He’s currently grinding to fight a mini boss and stacking up his combos make the process a lot less tedious. He’ll never say no to bonus exp and his fingers dance across the buttons with a practiced grace. “It’s okay though, I read ahead a bit and I freak the professor out way too much for him to call on me.”

Semi scowls and turns back to his own work, pausing every now and then to glance up at Tendou who has shifted position at least three times in the last five minutes. He’s obviously growing a little restless and Tendou ignores the message on the loading screen that tells him to take frequent breaks.

Ominous music begins the play in the background. It’s quiet but eerie, almost drowned out by the footsteps of the protagonist and his party.

Semi ducks his head and tries to focus.

The music steadily grows louder and is soon accompanied by the high pitched screech of a violin. There are more footsteps and a crow caws in the distance.

Semi frowns. His hand is poised to write but his mind is blank, instead filled with the cries of a choir who clearly had no place in whatever setting Tendou was venturing to.

“Can… Can you stop that?” Semi finally glances up, irritated, to see a grin deepening on Tendou’s face. He falters. “What’s making you so happy that you’ve got that freaky look on your face?”

“Huh? Oh!” Tendou swivels his hands around to show Semi the screen. His character is in front of a dark castle looming over him. There are bats fluttering through the windows and the iron gate is slowly being drawn up with the steady clank of chains. “This is the part where my favourite character comes in. I mean, he’s a little tough to beat but if you have a white mage equipped with Asclepius’ Staff, the battle is a breeze. It’s far less stressful than trying to skip past the cutscene but making sure you don’t hit the wrong dialogue options.”

“You’re favourite character.. is the villain?” For some reason, Semi doesn’t look particularly surprised but is still a little confused. “I thought that with all the bullshit shounen manga you’re always reading, you’d favour the gung-ho, ‘friendship solves everything!’ heroes.”

Tendou seems to think about it for a moment. “Nah.” For a second, his eyes flit across the screen and his smile widens. “Isn’t it way cooler to support the villain? The heroes obviously win but their character designs are pretty terrible in comparison. Look!” He points to the main hero whose outfit is covered in belts and exposes his left arm and shoulder. “So tacky!” Tendou pauses, “but I’m not sure why I’m talking to you about this SemiSemi, you wouldn’t look so out of place if I photoshopped you onto the cover art!”

“Shut up!” He takes a swipe and Tendou, who looks far too comfortable on the sofa, doesn’t have room the dodge.

“Ah, so mean Semisemi.” Tendou pouts, pretending to wipe a tear away. “If you were in the game, you’d be the tsundere princess for sure! And Waka would be the strong and handsome knight who’s sworn to protect you and your pretty face.”

Semi doesn’t know how to react to that, spluttering red in the face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tendou acts as if he doesn’t notice and continues with an oddly solemn look on his face. “Of course, then I’d take my role as the evil villain who kidnaps the princess and tries to take over the world with my army of the undead.”

Semi scoffs at that. “Don’t you think that you’re selling yourself a little short? ‘Coolness’ aside, why cast yourself as a villain?”

“Oh? You don’t think I’m more suited to wreaking havoc across the world? I’m telling you now Semisemi, I’m not the type to selflessly sacrifice myself for the greater good.”

“So what?” Semi counters, “Besides, you said I’m the princess right? So I say that you’d be the powerful warlock or the court magician who can control time and space and doesn’t want to instigate mass destruction by raising a hoard of zombies.”

Tendou freezes. “Ah Eita, you look adorable when you’re worked up like that!” His gentle teasing masks his surprise and as a bonus, he’s greeted by the sight of a flushed and embarrassed Semi. “But I’m telling you now, I’m definitely the type to work in the shadows. Besides, with such a powerful ability, what else can I use it for other than to bring about misfortune? I’m not a good person so such a background is wasted on me.”

“Fine, consider this instead then,” Semi concedes reluctantly. “You’re the misunderstood anti-hero who rubs people the wrong way when they first meet you but you’re actually an incredible and well-loved person who just doesn’t quite understand how much just yet.”

“No way-“

“And I’ll be the princess who goes with you to make sure that you don’t do anything stupid and Waka will join us and keep both of us safe, even if that means we have to fight the – how did I put it before? – the ‘gung-ho friendship solves everything!’ heroes, and that’s that.” Semi finishes hotly.

“Ah, Eita!” There is a moment of silence where Semi finishes comprehending everything that he’s just said and buries his hands in his face in mortification. “Eita is perfect and too good for me, what did I do to ever deserve you?”

“Shut up,” His voice is muffled. “Wakatoshi and I both love you. We won’t leave you for anything and neither of us particularly signed ourselves up to date a wannabe world dominator.”

There is an uncharacteristic hint of sadness in Tendou’s smile as he tackles Semi to the ground.

“Geh!”

“There’s the Deredere we all know and love!”

Semi doesn’t even have the energy to protest because Tendou has him trapped against the ground and hell, after all that studying, he wasn’t going to say no to an impromptu cuddling session.

“Waka comes back from practice at six, right?” Semi mumbles lazily into his chest to which Tendou hums in response. “I’m gonna have to start dinner soon then so don’t get too comfortable.”

He says that but Semi gives him another ten minutes, enjoying the warmth and comfort of holding each other close, and then they fall back into their routine, Tendou clearing the desk as Semi trudges over to the kitchenette in their apartment.

A slow, rather melancholic tune rings out that makes him freeze where he’s standing. Ah. Tendou glances over at his Vita and sees the dreaded ‘Game Over’ screen, the heroes finally felled by the overlord of the tower and his reinforcements after what could only have been a slow and gruelling battle.

It’s a little funny really. Tendou thinks about Karasuno and that pesky little shrimp and how compared to their own team, they’d probably be the protagonist of their own shounen manga, what with their team dynamics that most definitely wasn’t centred around one person alone. He remembers defeat and the cold wash that rushed over him when he finally realised that it was over. And now, with a bittersweet smile, he thinks to himself that it wasn’t really that bad to clash against the hero every now and then because they weren’t infallible.

He recalls Semi’s words and knows that even if they’re the bad guys of someone else’s story, he’s always going to have people by his side and he couldn’t do anything about it, no matter how hard he tried.

**Author's Note:**

> e n d m e
> 
> (It's also time to disappear for another 4 months, not only because I'm a lazy ass but because I have A-levels and they make me cry just thinking about them)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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